If you’re like me, you love the sunshine that the summer season has to offer – especially after what has been a very dreary spring for many of us. Which means, you probably use general amounts of sunscreen.
Sunscreen in Your Bloodstream?
The Journal of the American Medical Association‘s study revealing that the chemicals in sunscreen seep into your bloodstream after just one day. Instead of sitting on top of your skin, those chemicals get absorbed in the bloodstream.
Remember when we used a reflector (horrors!) to speed up that tanned face? Or maybe you slathered baby oil all over to attract the brightest rays of summer right to your face and body, like I did. Well, those days are long gone, thankfully.
Summer Skin Care
Now we know the basics of summer skin
care for our mature, yet glowing skin:
- Wear a hat;
- Stay out of the harshest sun between 10am and 2pm;
- Long sleeves and long pants are the best protection;
- Stay in the shade.
And the #1 summer skincare routine is
the daily and multiple application of sunscreen… right? Yes, but with a new
appreciation for how to best protect your face and body from both the sun and
the chemicals in sunscreen.
The Research Around Using Chemical Sunscreen
After conducting their research, the scientists found that using sunscreen the approved way for just one day (applying about 1 ounce every 2 hours when in the sun) increased the amount of four chemical sunscreen active ingredients – avobenzone, ecamsule, octocrylene, and oxybenzone – in the bloodstream to levels the FDA says triggers the need for more testing, potentially raising concerns.
“The fact that an ingredient is
absorbed through the skin and into the body does not mean the ingredient is
unsafe,” says Theresa Michele, M.D., director of the FDA’s Division
of Nonprescription Drug Products and one of the study’s authors. “Rather,
this finding supports the FDA’s call to determine the safety of sunscreen
ingredients for repeated use.”
While our skin isn’t a sponge, it’s certainly taking in some ingredients that we apply to our body and transporting them further down into the body where they may or may not make it into the bloodstream.
Benefits of Sunscreen
With or without the results of this
study, however, we must never stop using sunscreen. Sunscreen is important to
apply every day, and throughout the day. The best sunscreens offer a myriad of
important benefits, such as:
- Shielding us from the harmful UV rays.
- Lowering our risk of skin cancer.
- Preventing premature aging of our skin.
- Preventing sunburns.
Layer Your Sunscreen on Top
The question still remains though, of
how to use sunscreen without having it seep into our skin. After all, it’s
supposed to stay on it if it is to protect us.
The answer is simple. Apply your
sunscreen as the outermost layer of protection.
When we apply sunscreen on top of a face or body serum or moisturizer, we build an additional layer of protection. So, when the sun shines upon us, our first layer of skin protection is the sunscreen with all of its SPF.
Then, since the sunscreen sits as the
outermost layer protecting our skin, the layers beneath do not allow it to get
absorbed into our body.
The sequence that works for mature
facial skin is this:
- First goes your nourishing and hydrating facial serum, applied using some simple facial acupressure techniques.
- Then comes your moisturizer.
- Follow by applying your makeup.
- Finish with your sunscreen.
For your lovely mature body, first apply a toning and hydrating body serum or moisturizer, then follow with your sunscreen. Also, explore mineral sunscreens that will nurture your skin with natural ingredients. For example, La Roche-Posay Anthelios Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 and Thinksport SPF 50+ Mineral Sunscreen.
Last by not least, always clean
your face and body before bed. Never sleep with anything on your skin
but your face and body serum or moisturizer. Let your pores refresh with the
rest that is so vital to your whole body.
Sunscreen absorption into the bloodstream is a relatively
new concept, and I’m sure more studies are in progress. Still, we should keep
in mind that everyone’s body chemistry is different, and we all react to
chemicals and beauty products differently.
On every gorgeous day, and each and
every day, protect your skin with care and enjoy your summer!
Also read, KEEP YOUR SKIN SAFE AND LOOK GREAT WITH THESE SUNSCREEN PRODUCTS THAT DOUBLE AS MAKEUP.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
How do you protect your body in the summer? Do you use a sunscreen? Which one is your favorite? Please share in the comments below!
